Netlabel culture in Japan ¡ª referring to Web-only music labels that distribute tunes online, usually for free ¡ª has been around long enough to develop its own set of minor celebrities and ¡°star¡± imprints. Bunkai-Kei has become one of the most popular of these Internet institutions, and its latest release from the artist Smany finds the group acting more like a traditional label than ever before. In advance of her debut album, ¡°komoriuta¡± (which translates as ¡°songs for bats¡°), Bunkai-Kei released its first-ever video trailer. It also nabbed some respected names in the netlabel community to provide remixes of Smany¡¯s songs. The result is one of the netlabel¡¯s strongest offerings yet, and one of 2013¡¯s finest only-a-click-away collections.

Smany¡¯s recordings resemble similarly minimalist Japanese artists like Cokiyu and Cuushe. Her six original songs on ¡°komoriuta¡± make great use of empty space, to the point where the music here sounds glacial. The first song, ¡°A,¡± opens with a field recording of a train signal and a barely-there synthesizer line, adding in other recordings that convey a sense of loneliness. The vocals on ¡°Kurai Kurai¡± (¡°Dark, Dark¡°) come across clearest on ¡°komoriuta,¡± but are juxtaposed with music that sounds as if it was recorded off a broken car radio. Smany¡¯s spacious approach works best when she builds towards a forceful climax ¡ª the lonesome first half of ¡°Sherbet¡± eventually bursts alive, making it the release¡¯s best cut.

Besides introducing Smany to the world, ¡°komoriuta¡± also serves to highlight some of the strong electronic producers who provide remixes of her music. Three artists tackle ¡°A,¡± with results ranging from no.9¡¯s glitched-party-pop take to trorez upping the percussion on his rework. The best edits are for ¡°Sherbet,¡± starting with fulkawa ¡®s ¡°icedit,¡± which finds a way to make the number even chillier. Even better is Kyoto producer Madegg¡¯s take, featuring twinkling electronics and something sounding like computerized strings that ratchet the drama up even more than on the original. ¡°komoriuta¡± is a strong introduction to Smany and a handful of other great artists, and a reminder of how healthy the netlabel scene is right now. (Patrick St. Michel)

¡°komoriuta¡± by Smany is available by the Bunka-kei website at .